In Berlin, Ian Johnson sat down with both writer Liao Yiwu, who has lived there since 2011, and Ai Weiwei, who recently traveled there after having his passport returned after a four-year confiscation:
This is your first time abroad in almost five years. Did you have to agree to anything to come abroad?
Ai: They always put pressure on me before I was arrested. They were always saying certain things I should discuss. I should not discuss politics.
But you’re talking about them.